Baker Company, 100th Infantry Battalion
Rikio “Riki” Tsuda was born in 1923 in the village of Takiyama Pineapple Camp, a few miles from Waialua, Oʻahu, where his parents had settled after immigrating from Yamaguchi-ken, Japan. In 1940, when his brother, the family’s breadwinner, was drafted into the U.S. Army, Tsuda felt compelled to leave school to help support his parents. He began working as a carpenter.
In 1943, when the call for volunteers for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team went out, he hitchhiked from Kahuku, where he was working on an airfield, to enlist. Tsuda was assigned to Company M, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
In April 1943, he was deployed to Italy with the second replacement group from the 442nd, sent to reinforce the casualty-depleted 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), where he was assigned to Company B. He fought with the 100th in the Rome-Arno, North Apennines, Rhineland (Vosges Mountains), and Po Valley (Gothic Line) campaigns.
Tsuda returned home in December 1945 and was discharged on January 4, 1946. With the support of the GI Bill, he attended Honolulu Business College and went on to work in a series of white-collar positions. After 40 years of federal service, he retired in 1980 as a Senior Traffic Control Technician with the Military Airlift Command (MAC) at Hickam Air Force Base.
In retirement, he and his wife, Evelyn, traveled extensively. In 1984, they returned to Bruyères and Biffontaine, France, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the liberation of those towns by the 100th and 442nd. During that visit, they formed a lasting friendship with a local couple who felt forever indebted to the Nisei; a bond that endured for over 27 years.
Tsuda and his wife were also active with Club 100, the veterans’ organization established by the 100th Infantry Battalion. Evelyn supported the club’s office and “Puka Puka Parade” newsletter, and together they participated in gatherings, commemorations, and social events, helping to honor the memory of the 100th’s fallen comrades while maintaining the close bonds formed during the war.
Rikio Tsuda passed away at age 99, in October 2022, with his family by his side.
